Camp Escapades Gone to the Dogs!

Well, I had a very interesting experience this week. I went to a camp for autistic children, and there was this pug sitting next to me who got all the attention! Everyone wanted to pet him when clearly...what, Mom? This isn't what you wanted me to write about? Oh, sorry.

Let me start again. Did you see my picture in the paper this week? I was in the Beach Reporter, but they misspelled my name. I mean, how hard is Chubbs? It's written on my vest. What, Mom? OK, fine...

I went to a camp in Torrance for autistic children called Camp Escapades. There were all these fun stations for the children to visit, and one of them was our Paws 4 Healing station. I was there with two other dogs and was clearly the cutest dog there. I'm just saying. The kids were of all different levels. Some could clearly see that I was the cutest and spent the whole 15 minutes with me, and some just wanted to pet this pug. I mean, some had dogs and knew a lot about them, and others weren't even sure how to pet a dog. It was very interesting for me, and it's a very difficult environment. Not everyone was allowed to go.

I found it really rewarding, but I also realized that I had to communicate with my mom when I had had too much stimulation, so I would turn my head away if anyone was bothering me. Since I usually don't do that, my mom knew that I was telling her to intervene and help the child interact with me differently.

The thing about dogs is that we don't talk like you humans do. So we find ways to tell you we are unhappy. If you don't want that to be barking and growling, then you have to recognize our subtle signals early on. If you have a reactive dog, like Muggsy, one of the first things to learn is how to recognize the subtle signals that preceed the really awful ones (like when he attacks me for staring at him too long!) Sometimes, a turn of the head, repeatedly looking at you or walking behind you is the signal that too much is going on. It doesn't mean that we can't do it. Maybe we just need a little break.

Remember this when socializing your puppy, too. Sometimes, we ignore scared puppy signals because we want them to get used to something, like children, but if we ignore the signals, they learn that we adults can't be trusted, and that's when the aggressive stuff starts. So watch your dog for their subtle signals this week and see what you can learn!

Love, Chubbs